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Accounting for population, the world map looks totally different

This is a world population cartogram, a false-geography map that resizes countries according to their population. It’s an interesting way to view the world, and compared to common projections perhaps more accurate, in its own way.


Map from Reddit user TeaDranks.

The United States is the world’s fourth largest country by land area, and third largest by population, so it’s not particularly distorted compared to geographic projections. But many other countries are.

China (1.4 billion) and India (1.3 billion) visually dominate, being by far the world’s two most populous countries. Others that stand out with seemingly oversized populations are Nigeria, Bangladesh, Japan, and the Philippines.

On the other end of the spectrum, the world’s two largest countries by land area are much reduced. Russia’s population of 146 million is still good enough for 9th highest globally, but that appears unimpressive against its normally huge area. And Canada, the world’s second largest country but only its 37th most populous, is nothing but a tiny sliver.

What stands out to you?

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

January 26th, 2015 | Permalink
Tags: demographics, fun, maps



Australia has an enormous nationwide beltway

Washington’s I-495 beltway is a 64 mile long loop. London’s M-25 orbital motorway is 117 miles. They seem big, but they’re practically microscopic next to the greatest ring road on Earth, Australia’s 9,000-mile Highway 1.


Map from the Commonwealth of Australia.

In fact, Highway 1 is the longest single highway in the world. It’s 32% longer than Russia’s Trans-Siberian Highway, and almost three times longer than the longest US Interstate, I-90.

The Australian government created Highway 1 in 1955, by compiling a network of existing local and regional highways under a single banner.

Unlike American Interstates, Highway 1 isn’t fully limited access for its entire length. Near big cities like Sydney or Melbourne it looks like an Interstate, but many sections in rural areas are simple two-lane roads, and some extremely isolated sections are even more basic.

All hail the king of ring roads.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

January 12th, 2015 | Permalink
Tags: fun, maps, roads/cars, transportation



How fast can you go? Map of maximum speed limits around the world

In most of the United States, the maximum speed limit is somewhere between 65 and 75 miles per hour. What about the rest of the world? This map tells you.


Maximum speed limits around the world. Map from Reddit user worldbeyondyourown.

In the eastern US, most states top out with maximum speed limits of 70 miles per hour. Out west, most states allow 75, and a handful go even higher than that.

Texas has the highest speed limit in the western hemisphere, at 85 miles per hour. On the other end of the spectrum, no road in Canada’s province Nunavut has a limit above 45 miles per hour.

Germany’s Autobahn famously has no maximum speed limit, but it’s not the only place in the world to hold that distinction. Australia’s Northern Territory is also speed limit free. But don’t try racing down roads in Bhutan, where the maximum limit is no higher than 45.

What else jumps out?

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

December 11th, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: maps, roads/cars, transportation



Two maps that explain what DC might look like as a state

On Monday, Congress considered DC statehood. But what would DC actually look like if it became a state?


Maps by Geoffrey Hatchard for Neighbors United for Statehood.

The most likely path to statehood for the District would shrink the federal city to a tiny section surrounding the National Mall and other federal properties. That section would remain not part of any state. The rest of the city would then become the 51st state, possibly called New Columbia.

Here’s a zoom-in to what would become the remaining federal city.


 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

September 17th, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: government, maps



See 32 years of DC bike lane growth in one animation

DC has had a smattering of bike lanes since at least 1980, but the network only started to grow seriously starting in about 2002. This animation shows the growth of DC’s bike lane network, from 1980 through to 2012.


Animation from Betsy Emmons on MapStory.

From 1980 to 2001, literally nothing changed. Then in 2001, two short new bike lanes popped up. The next year there were 5 new ones. From then on, District workers added several new bike lanes each year, making a boom that’s still going on.

This animation ends in 2012, so it doesn’t include recent additions like the M Street cycletrack. But it’s still a fascinating look at how quickly things can change once officials decide to embrace an idea.

In a few years, a map showing the rise of protected bike lanes might start to look similar. That map would start in 2009 with DDOT’s installation of the original 15th Street cycletrack. It would expand slowly through this decade, then maybe (hopefully), it would boom as moveDC’s 70 mile cycletrack network becomes a reality.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

July 23rd, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: bike, maps, transportation



The DC region lost 60 miles of bus lanes. It’s time to get them back

Prior to 1976 the DC region had at least 60 miles of bus-only lanes, with even more proposed. This map shows where they were.


On the map, the red lines show existing bus lanes as of 1976. Blue and black lines show proposals that never materialized. The network reached throughout DC, Northern Virginia, and into Maryland.

Unfortunately, all the bus lanes were converted to other purposes after the Metrorail system was built.

It’s no coincidence or surprise that some of the old bus lanes were on the same streets where they’re now proposed again, like 16th Street and H and I Streets downtown. Those are natural transit corridors, with great need for quality service.

Will we ever get this system back? The region is off to a good start, with moveDC’s 25 miles of proposed transit lanes, and the upcoming Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway. But the 60-mile system from the 1970s shows we still have a lot of work to do.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

July 7th, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: BRT, bus, maps, transportation



Beyond Earth: The solar system’s total available land

Someday, unless humanity descends into a dark age, we’ll colonize space. Here’s how much land we’ve got to work with, within our solar system.


Image from xkcd.

This chart (it’s not really a map) is to scale for area but obviously not shape. Except Earth’s continents, the shape of the borders are fully the creative license of the illustrator. This simply shows how large each solid planet & moon in our solar system would be, if they were all combined into a single huge continent.

July 3rd, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: fun, maps



Map shows every DC & Arlington cycletrack

With DC’s M Street and 1st Street cycletracks on the ground, the central city network of protected bike lanes is starting to actually look like a network.


Base map from Google.

This map shows every cycletrack in town. In addition to M Street and 1st Street, there’s L Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, good old reliable 15th Street, and the diminutive R Street lane near the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

For the sake of completion the map also shows Rosslyn’s super tiny cycletrack, which exists mainly to access a popular Capital Bikeshare station.

Between DC’s proposed 70 mile cycltrack network and plans coming together in South Arlington, hopefully future iterations of this map will look even better.

Notice anything missing or wrong?

May 21st, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: bike, maps, transportation, Uncategorized



Heat maps show where people bike… or at least, where affluent people exercise by bike

A global cycling heat map from the fitness app Strava shows where people are exercising by bike. It’s a useful tool to chart the most popular bike trails, but the data skew heavily towards wealthier recreational cyclists and away from transportation and less affluent areas.


Stava cycling heat map for the DC region.

Strava is an exercise app for smartphones that uses GPS to track users’ cycling and jogging routes. Fitness enthusiasts use it to chart their running or cycling times, and measure performance over time. Since the company has billions of data points from users all over the world, it was easy to plot it all onto a map.

The resulting global heat map is a fascinating look at the most popular trails. For our region, it’s easy to see long-distance regional trails stand out, especially in Fairfax, Arlington, Montgomery, and Howard Counties.

But while this is interesting stuff, it’s unfortunately not very useful for urban transportation planning. Since 100% of Strava users care so much about speed that they’ve downloaded an app to measure it, and are wealthy enough to have a smartphone, the data skews seriously in favor of recreational cycling among affluent populations.

On the flip side, it seriously undercounts cyclists who bike as transportation simply to get from point A to point B. Likewise, it seriously undercounts lower income populations.

To prove the point, merely compare the trails on the west side of the DC region to those on the east side. Or compare the bright blue suburban trail network in Columbia, MD with the much more limited cycling apparent in central Baltimore. The places affluent people bike on the weekend stand out, while others sink to the background.

So this is neat info, beautifully presented, with practical applications to regional trail planning and parks planning. But for urban bike lanes, it’s no substitute for hard local data.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

May 12th, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: bike, maps, transportation



The DC region has over 250 miles of planned light rail, streetcar, & BRT

What do you get when you plot onto a single map every known light rail, streetcar, and BRT plan in the DC region? One heck of a huge transit network, is what.


Every planned light rail, streetcar, and BRT line in the DC region. Click the map to open a zoom-able interactive version. Basemap from Google.

This map combines the DC streetcar and MoveDC bus lane plan with the Arlington streetcar plan, the Alexandria transitway plan, Montgomery’s BRT plan, and Fairfax’s transit network plan, plus the Purple Line, the Corridor Cities Transitway, the Long Bridge study, the Wilson Bridge transit corridor, and finally the Southern Maryland transit corridor.

Add the route mileage from all of them up and you get 267 miles of proposed awesomeness, not including the Silver Line or other possible Metrorail expansions.

To be sure, it will be decades before all of this is open to passengers, if ever.

The H Street Streetcar will be the first to open this year, god willing, with others like the Purple Line and Columbia Pike Streetcar hopefully coming before the end of the decade. But many of these are barely glimpses in planners’ eyes, vague lines on maps, years or decades away from even serious engineering, much less actual operation.

For example, Maryland planners have been talking about light rail extending south into Charles County since at least the late 1990s, but it’s no higher than 4th down on the state’s priority list for new transit, after the Purple Line, Corridor Cities Transitway, and Baltimore Red Line. Never mind how Montgomery’s expansive BRT network fits in.

Meanwhile in Virginia, the Gallows Road route seems to be a brand new idea. There’s yet to be even a feasibility study for it.

Even if governments in the DC region spend the next few decades building this network, there are sure to be changes between now and the day it’s all in place. Metro’s original planners didn’t know Tysons would become the behemoth it is, and contemporary planners can’t predict the future with 100% accuracy either.

Last year the Coalition for Smarter Growth published a report documenting every known route at that time, and already a lot has changed. More is sure to change over time.

Holes in the network

With a handful of exceptions these plans mostly come from individual jurisdictions. DC plans its streetcars, Montgomery County plans its BRT, and so on.

That kind of bottom-up planning is a great way to make sure land use and transit work together, but the downside is insular plans that leave gaps in the overall network.

Ideally there ought to be at least one connection between Fairfax and Montgomery, and Prince George’s ought to be as dense with lines as its neighbors.

But still, 267 miles is an awfully impressive network. Now let’s build it.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.
 
 
 

May 6th, 2014 | Permalink
Tags: BRT, lightrail, maps, master planning, streetcar, transportation



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